Higher Mile c250 Reliability?
 

I've been looking into getting a c250 (2012-14) and I've found one I'm interested in but it's got 68k miles on it. How are these cars in reliability in the higher miles? I haven't found much on them and I'd like to know if anyone has had any bad experiences with them? Thanks

I might just be speaking for myself, but I wouldnt even call that high milage. If the car is in otherwise good condition and serviced properly I say go for it.

I drive different Mercedes cars and vans all day at work. We retire the cars usually at about 350k miles. We drive them about 100k miles per year more or less.

My experience with Mercedes is that they are generally very reliable if they have been properly taken care of.

Ofc you might get unlucky and get a real bad egg, but that applies to many things, not just cars.

But as I said, if there is record of all the services being done, and the car feels alright to you, then go for it. If you continue to take care of it you will have a good car for many years.

I would recommend making sure they've done all the scheduled maintenance by asking for the maintenance receipts. Also, make sure to get a pre-purchase inspection at a Mercedes dealer, its around 75 bucks but it'll be worth it. You don't want to end up with major engine problems down the road. That being said, as long as you maintain it well, these cars will last.

High mileage ??68k ? Ha, I just hit 290k with my c300 and its like new. I wouldn't trust a c250 to get that far without major engine repairs tho. The turbo is a wear item that needs rebuilding. The timing chain components aren't the most reliable on the m271 (4cyl) and they seem to suffer from cam adjuster failures quite often. Those aren't problems that condemn the c250 but with those wear items in mind, be prepared for them to fail if you plan on keeping the car for a long time.

Now if you are in canada, c250 4matic 2012-2014 are 2.5L v6 which is just a smaller version on my 3L in my c300, a simple DOHC v6 which is why I chose to get one because I knew I would keep it a long time and the mileage would go up fast. 200k later since I purchased it and I made the right decision.

RWD c250 here has the 4cyl turbo engine, they dont make the older 4 cylinder turbo cars 4matic until the newer w205.

FWIW - - - -

CU's Annual Auto Issue shows the 2012/2013/2014 C250 - in about 16 areas of reliability - with almost ALL at the highest level (Regret I forget the color).

My girlfriend has the c180CGI with 125k miles on it and other than the usual maintenance stuff like brake pads etc the car drives like brand new.
Only thing so far that has been replaced is the thermostat. We did a dyno run a while ago to see if there was any power loss but the car shifts and drives like brand new and didnt lose any power at all. So I would say the 4 cyl cars are very reliable

You can't compare a 4cyl diesel to a 4cyl petrol.. Diesel are far more durable.

The CGI is petrol with a turbo.. and since he wants to get the 250 its basicly the same engine as the the car my gf has.

My mistake, we don't have those over here in canada.

Really? Must be an european model then. What are the c180/200/250 petrol models in Canada? Kompressors?

There's no 4cyl over here until the face lift in 2012+ which only had the 1.8 m271 turbo engine. From 2008-2011 smallest option is the c230 with a 2.5L v6 and in the facelift if you wanted a c250 4matic, its a 2.5L v6 but a base RWD c250 has the 1.8 turbo engine. We don't even have a single diesel option for any w204 here..

Worst car I ever owned: my c250 is less than 5 years old, about 45K mileage; It's garaged, light driving between work and home; It has numerous issues: 1. First there are several recalls through mails: the dealer is never willing to repair them, saying no parts available; 2. Numerous repairs: just this past month: fuel sensors: $750; Time Chain: $23K; another part causing time chain to fail: another $1K; Two diagnosis for checking an engine light: each diagnosis cost $180, of course plus repair cost even diagnosed. I am getting rid of it as fast as I could once I got it back, my Lexus is much reliable.

Germans, in general, seem to have issues with 4 cylinder engines and your c250 is no exception. Horrible engine IMO, you are much better off with a v6 for these cars.

Can confirm the 2.5L M272 is a reliable engine. Mine just rolled over 285k km and I've had no major issues

Coulda bought a hellcat engine for 23k bud, who's ripping you off

Yeah the M272 proved to be a very reliable engine once the balance shaft problems were solved. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about the early M276 engines. Glad I researched enough to know this and stuck with an M272 with the facelift. Best of both worlds!
I'm sure he means 2.3k :D

2014 C250 1.8 liter coupe -- not very well built car
 

I bought a 2014 C250 Coupe CPO at RBM in Atlanta in 2016 with 24K miles. In 2018 a cam phaser went out under warranty which took MB dealer almost a month to fix. In 2019 windshield leaked so had it repaired then the coolant pipe above turbo fractured a few months later. In 2020 the headliner delaminated in the rear and the burl wood trim on the dash warped and cracked as well as both the bottom seat cover and the seat upper cover both split and the tilt handle broke off . The seat and handle issue are very common. Starter went out at 85K miles in 2021and the wire connector to the thermostat temp sensor failed at 87K miles. The rear tires wear out every 9K miles thanks to aggressive non adjustable camber . Installed SPC camber kit so now get 50K miles on Michelin Pilot Sport AS3's. The parking brake assembly failed at 90K miles . Its plastic on a metal gear so cheaply made part IMHO. Paint and exterior trim now at 107K miles in 2023 still look great . Have babied the car and rigorously maintain it but it sits idle today thanks to failure of EZS immobilizer system which is $2500 repair. Thankfully have and can fix all these issues myself but even so its cost $5000 to repair the car over the 83K miles have owned it and still have delaminating headliner.which is $2K in deferred repair. The 2 door coupe is fairly rare so my guess is they are not as well designed and assembled in its unique areas as the 4 door version . I bought a new Subaru so the Mercedes can be a back up car. After 4 Mercedes C class cars since 1998 this one is the last MB I will own. Its a beautiful car but high maintenance.

2013 C250 W204 bought new in Nov 2012. Factory Keyless go, ILS with washer, Staggered 18" AMG wheels.
I replaced the stock battery last year (2022) and slapped a new set of tires in May this year. The brake vacuum pump failed and was replaced last month. Last week, I replaced the Banjo bolt per the TSB LI09.40-P-055396.
The car has been owner-maintained since new and is in immaculate condition @ 28775 miles on the clock.

from my own experience of owning a 2013 c250 coupe M271 engine, currently at 84k miles - terrible reliability despite great maintenance, would avoid at all cost - just take a look at the numerous threads ive personally started

28k miles isn't enough to demonstrate reliability, which is what the OP is asking. In fact at that mileage, I'd call it unreliable if you've already replaced the vac pump.

Please don't get me wrong! I am in no way demonstrating the reliability of the C250 in my previous post. I am just sharing the repair history for reference if I may.

The transition from the 6-cylinder M272 to the 4-cylinder M271 and 6-cylinder M276 proved to be the most unreliable transition for MB. Things went downhill from there pretty much and that's why I specifically bought my 2012 C300 4MATIC with the M272 and 7G+ transmission. No more MB for me after this one as my money would be better spent elsewhere, on other hobbies, powersports, etc...

My 2012 has been relatively reliable so far with a very premature failure of a shift solenoid at 50k km and some axle boots getting torn at 100k km. Replaced a couple of minor engine parts as well at 100k including spark plugs but yeah not interested anymore after this one due to the lack of reliability.

When it was time to buy another vehicle for the family, I was a bit torn between a 2016-18 GLE 350 or 400 and a 2023-24 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. We ended up buying the RAV4 and couldn't be happier.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...a90f6dd7e8.jpg
I just bought a new to me C250 with 98K miles

Congrats!

Thanks for the info. I am new here. I have a 2014 C250 Coupe and it has been very reliable. Knock on wood. I need to get the front bottom bumper replaced. It has some dings in it. I am referring to the bottom front of the car. is this a bumper or does it have some other name? Right now I am thinking about buying the bumper and having Maaco install and paint.

Any thoughts on this? Any tips you can give would be appreciated and I am quite ignorant about car repairs.